SPECIAL REPORT
HCVA HERITAGE MATTERS DAY
Registration agency criticised for a lack of progress in cases involving classic owners – and for its no-show at the latest industry conference
The DVLA has been criticised for not making enough progress in dealing with problems faced by classic owners – and for not turning up to a meeting where experts where discussing them.
Classic vehicle owners are still facing problems such as low case handling, mis-registering and forcing cars onto ‘Q’ plates when dealing with the Driver and Vehicle Licensing Agency. While annoying, some of these issues have broader implications and in certain cases can even devalue a car. And yet the Historic Classic Vehicle Alliance (HCVA) has said that the agency has failed to progress despite constant confrontation and criticism.
Greg Smith MP, a member of the House of Commons’ Transport Committee, told enthusiasts and industry experts at the HCVA’s Heritage Matters conference that while some progress on how the DVLA dealt with classic-specific cases had been made there was still lack of understanding about classic and historic cars and how to register them, particularly where imported examples – typically those from the US – were concerned.
He said: ‘I think it is a shame that the DVLA has chosen not to come; I feel that the representatives were able to learn and better understand this valuable sector last year. But let’s not pretend otherwise – my inbox suggests that a huge problem still exists. It is an absurdity that an arm of the state is throwing so many metaphorical spanners into the works when it comes to restoring these cars.
‘In how many other avenues of restoration and preservation is the act admired and saluted? With cars, it is shunned by the very organisations that administer it. Repairs that wouldn’t raise an eyebrow if completed by a dealer on a modern car are treated as the crime of the century on a classic. We need greater co-operation from the DVLA and DVSA (Driver and Vehicle Standards Agency) with the industry and the organisations that form it. That will continue to be my mission.’
This is despite the agency’s corporate services manager, Dudley Ashford, telling attendees at a similar conference held last autumn (CCW, 11 October 2023), ‘Make no bones about it – we do get it’ in response to issues raised by classic owners.
However, the HCVA’s website now hosts a dedicated form that classic owners can fill in to report issues with the DVLA and while it isn’t intended to solve issues on a case-by-case basis it does seek to address concerns about how the Swansea
